Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Nasi Kerabu - Kelantan Dish 1

Nasi Kerabu happens to be my most favorite rice dish ever. I have this ex-colleague of mine name Jeff who used to live in Kampung Baru and I will get him to tapau (take out) for me every week. I've always wanted to make nasi kerabu but when I look at the long list of ingredients and the amount of afford putting into making a dish I tend to forgo it. Being overseas doesn’t help either as it can be quite difficult for me to get some of the ingredients but because of this MFF event I don't mind spending a few hours in the kitchen to cooked this meal as it is all worth it. The meal turns out great.

One of the key ingredients in Nasi Kerabu is the fish, specifically Mackerel. I was so confident I could head down to the Asian supermarket and buy some Mackerel, little did I know there is no such thing as a simple Mackeral here in the USA! I was confronted with Atlantic Mackeral, Pacific Mackerel, Indian Mackerel etc. I had no idea which one to buy as none looked familiar to me as they were huge..almost as long as my arm, I kid you not! The fish that I'm familiar with that normally accompanies my Nasi kerabu were all cute looking and petite. That’s just the first problem I faced. The second problem was that I could not find any budu (salted / fermented anchovy sauce). Nasi kerabu without budu is like Nasi Lemak without the Sambal or teh Tarik without the froth. You can do it but it's just not the same. These all changed when my good friend gave me half a bottle of budu brought all the way back from Terengganu. I just had to make this Nasi Kerabu by hook or by crook. No more excuses!

Not many people know that Nasi Kerabu comes in a few colors other than blue although blue is the most popular color. Variations can be white (normal white rice), yellow (turmeric and cekur / sand ginger) which is called Nasi Kerabu Tumis and grey (from Mengkudu leaves / noni / Morinda Citrifolia ) which is known as Nasi Kerabu Hitam although blue is also known by the same name. In reality, there are so many different combinations of accompaniments and styles of cooking that it is quite impossible to list them all here. If you are interested, remember 'Google' is your best friend.

Wash and drain the rice. Soak the rice with the butterfly pea flower water for 10 minutes (if using) and then put in kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and salt and cook the rice as usual. If you are just using blue coloring, drop a few drops of the color and cook as usual.

Dry fry the grated coconut until lightly brown. If the grated coconut you are using is a little bit coarser, just pound it lightly to make it finer. Cool completely.
Into a mixing bowl, put flaked fish, ground ingredients and kerisik. Add salt and sugar and mix well. Transfer to a serving dish.

1. Combine dried chilies and shallots by grinding or blending in a blender. Into a pot, put coconut milk, ground chilies and shallots, dried sour fruit slices and lemongrass. Bring to a slow boil.
2. Simmer gently, stirring constantly for 10 minutes or until oil separates. However, if you are using canned coconut, the oil will not separate no matter how long you cook. In this instance, just cook until the gravy thickens.
3. Add sugar and salt or budu (whichever one you prefer), then transfer to a serving bowl.

1. Rub fish with salt and tamarind juice. Leave for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare batter. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. Dip seasoned fish into batter and fry in hot oil for 2 - 3 minutes on each side. When cooked through and light golden, drain fish and transfer to a serving dish.

1. Coat the beef with salt and turmeric (if you have the time, marinate for a few hours). Preheat oven at 400 degree F (grill function).
2. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Rub a wire grid with some oil. Rub beef pieces with oil and place onto the oiled grid.
3. Grill for 40 minutes or until the surface looks dry, turning once every ten minutes. Leave beef to cool down and slice thinly to serve.

Yen, I bought some frozen bunga kantan when I was in New York last month. You can get it from the Thai/Indonesian store at Manthatan Chinatown. Let me know if you want to go there and I can give you the address.

Esther, thank you for your support and looking forward to your submissions.

Mel, thank you. It is a lot of work but all worth it. We enjoyed eating it :)

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About Me

I was born and raised in Malaysia and now live in Northern California, USA with my wonderful husband Carlos. I love to bake and cook. It is very relaxing and I find my creativity flowing in the kitchen. I creates this blog to record all my cooking and baking adventures and also share my tested recipes with you.
I don’t consider myself an expert but all the recipes here are tried and tested by me, unless noted otherwise.
If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to do so, If you’re feeling shy or have a question about a recipe, drop me a line instead. My e.mail address is at my profile.
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